Posted on Monday 14th Oct 2024
Schools are walking an attendance tightrope as the government ratchets up pressure on reducing stubbornly high absence rates – but parents are becoming more vocal in their opposition to measures to get kids back in the classroom post-Covid. Schools Week investigates …
Schools are having to apologise and scramble to dampen parental anger over proposed attendance policies. In one case, a parent took to social media to tell a secondary: “You do not own my child.”
Leaders say the incident is indicative of heads put in an “impossible position”, as the government increases the pressure to get pupils back into class.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has described absence levels as an “emergency”, with analysis suggesting it has become a bigger issue during inspections.
Parents’ views have changed in a post-Covid world. Research conducted by consultancy Thinks Insight & Strategy, cited by the Department for Education, shows parents “consider small periods of absence from school manageable” and are more concerned about “spreading illnesses”.
Can't find what you are looking for?
Don't worry, please call us anyway to discuss your ideal job.
Latest News
18/12/24Worry for staff and children as London council moves ahead with plans to close Kent special school
Staff at a residential special school in Kent, which is run by a London council, have voiced worries about plans to close the facility down. Wandsworth Council is moving forward with plans to shut down Bradstow School in Broadstairs due to escalating financial pressures.
17/12/24Schools given £740m to adapt buildings for Send pupils
The government has announced £740m of funding to increase the number of places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in mainstream schools in England. ??The money, part of the £6.7bn of education spending announced in the Budget, will be targeted towards adapting school buildings to make them more accessible.
10/12/24Starmer wants 75% of children ‘school-ready’ by 2028
Target of three in four reception pupils at a 'good' level of development is one of six key 'milestones'
09/12/24Kent school where pupils feel 'safe and happy' named The Sunday Times 'best in the South East'
A Kent school has been named the best secondary school in the South East by The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2025. The highest-achieving primary and secondary schools across the UK have been ranked by the paper, which said its survey is "widely acknowledged as the most authoritative".
06/12/24Ofsted "alarmed" by absences and "flexi-schooling."
The “alarming” level of children missing school has become a “stubborn and damaging issue”, according to the chief inspector of Ofsted, England's schools regulator. Sir Martyn Oliver said he was also worried about a rise in "flexi-schooling", where parents educate their children at home for part of the week. It is not clear how many children are taught in this manner. The Department for Education (DfE) said the government was putting education "back at the forefront of national life". Ofsted's annual report said attendance issues had "deepened" since the pandemic.